After Endings
by Ibarelywritefics
Summary: A compilation of after endings for all of Jumin's endings from a personal story telling view. BE1/BE2/BE3/BRE1/Normal
1. Bad End 1

The office was buzzing around as usual. Papers flying from desk to desk, muttering in the distance about who knew what and of course…

"I don't hear those keyboards typing!" MC rambled on, "How are we supposed to help Jumin like this?"

The other employees nervously shared a glance at each other before nervously returning to their work. It was true that MC drove profits up single handedly. The 130% Jumin had been looking for following his father's own marriage was certainly found in her.

But she also brought in a very… unique personality. On her own, she was actually very helpful and kind. Much like the ideal personality one would want from a good friend. Adding Jumin in the picture changed her though. Not drastically but it certainly made her go on full "protect" mode as they called it.

She had just barged in the meeting room one day and all you could hear from it was yelling and screaming. Jaehee had walked out calmly at one point, picked up a bag of popcorn and walked back into the room as the screaming continued on.

"SHE'S PULLING MY HAIR! JUMIN!" Sarah had yelled out.

"Oh please, you must not care about breakage too much to dye it such a cheap color. This isn't even in season!" MC had retorted back.

Sarah had left the room screaming with Glam Choi running after her and MC was quick to follow. Jumin's own father left a bit scuffled by the whole scenario, but he somehow learned his lesson to not simply let anyone into those meetings. MC had done a great job of showing how dangerous that was.

After everything had settled, Jumin and Jaehee walked out of the meeting and continued to work as if nothing happened.

The whole facility was left baffled by the turn of events that day, but it didn't seem like anything changed too much.

After work that day, Jumin took a deep breath of relief. It was the first real breath he felt like he had taken in a few days actually. "I'm home, Princess." He said to Elizabeth 3rd happily, "You'll be happy to hear that you're completely safe from harm now. Those women won't be entering this penthouse anytime soon."

He leaned down and pet her gently, reflecting a bit on everything that happened that day. He was Christian; he had not really sat down with his religious beliefs in years. But, for the first time in who knew how long, he thanked God. He wondered if MC was brought into his life just as a means to stop all of this. It could have easily been escalated to a point that would have droven him insane.

But it was all avoided thanks to MC's almost barbaric manner of helping. Crazy, yes. But he knew talent and drive when he saw it. He also saw loyalty and dedication beyond even what he would expect from Assistant Kang.

He was… impressed? No, that didn't feel right. He knew talking to her gave him some kind of emotion, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He knew when he was impressed. That wasn't it.

"No, I don't need to waste time thinking on that." Jumin thought out loud as he took off his coat and tried to relax a bit, but his mind remained focused on MC. He tried to cover it with thoughts of work and Elizabeth, but MC just continued to run back to his mind.

He almost liked that there was someone out there willing to fight for him. There was no way he was going to try to fight his father, but for someone like MC to fight against him. Well, maybe it was something he had secretly been wanting his entire life.

He looked at his phone and felt his emotions swirl around again. He had no idea what emotion MC was making him feel, but he felt the need to sort it out. After today's work, he felt like he owed it to her.

He called her up.

"You picked up…" Jumin said calmly, although his mind was still in a mess of emotions. "Did you return to the apartment okay?"

"Of course!" MC was confident, "Nothing is going to keep me standing still when you're on the line!"

Jumin chuckled lightly. He had heard things like this so many times in the past before, but for a change, he felt like MC actually meant it. She was dead set on making sure no one else laid a finger on him, except for Elizabeth of course. "With confidence like that, it's a wonder why we have all been worried about this hacker…"

"Oh don't worry about me! Worry about you! Are you going to be eating something good tonight?" MC chirped up.

What a strange question. Jumin had no idea how to answer it, but his mind kept trailing off and off with her. "Ah, I suppose I should consider something. Elizabeth 3rd doesn't like to go hungry."

"Okay, well for tonight I'd say coq au vin sounds good." MC's own mouth watered.

"That's a very sodium heavy dish, but I suppose I did skip out on lunch today. I will take that into consideration." He sighed, "You should eat something yourself. Don't worry about my father or his woman to go after you, I can handle this myself. But… Thanks to you, I don't think I will have to deal with Sarah anymore. Thank you."

"Anytime~" MC was thrilled at the gesture. "You just let me know if someone is out for you and I'll be there!"

Jumin nodded his head, "Loyalty is a very admirable trait. I find it to be the most important trait of any employee I bring into this company. You can always third party source any degree of skill, but you can never out source loyalty for your own staff. Would you say that's agreeable?"

"Of course it is! Loyalty is super important!"

"Mmm… I am glad to see we agree on this. I would like for you to remain as loyal to the RFA as possible. The party will be soon and I hope you are still planning on doing your best."

"I wouldn't plan on anything less." MC began to look around the pantry for her own dinner.

"In that case, I should go check on Elizabeth 3rd and consider her dinner. Her dinner is of up most importance. I will call you again if I have time. Have a good evening."

It was true he was expecting nothing but the best for the RFA party. It was their first party in so long, he wanted it to be as best as it could, despite V's constant reminders that MC was new to this.

But he knew MC could meet his expectations. He just… had a feeling. He couldn't describe it, but he knew she could do it.

And he was right. Boy, was he right. The party facility was completely filled with almost well over 40 guest alone. In less than a week! "Impressive." Jumin told himself, "She's diligent as well."

Loyalty… Diligence… These were some very admirable traits. She was still just as protective of Jumin as she was just a few days ago, being on the lookout for any certain women coming too close to Jumin for casual chat.

The more he thought on it, the more curious he got. Even now, MC still had this weird force that made him feel so… strange. He wasn't even sure what the feeling was, but he figured she could be trusted enough for him to look at her closely and try to figure himself out.

He started the ever so baffling tradition of dating. Jaehee herself was in shock upon hearing it, but at the same time, she recalled all of those past messages and MC's own actions with Sarah… it was hardly unpredictable.

It still felt weird with Jumin having a girlfriend… even if there were weeks where it seemed like nothing had changed at all. Jumin didn't seem to visibly moved by dating as much as he just looked lost. His father kind of looked confused upon seeing Jumin's own choice in women, but he shrugged and figured maybe he was missing a bigger piece of the picture here. He had picked Sarah because she seemed so sweet to him, but maybe Jumin wasn't into that type of thing. Maybe Jumin was into something else entirely. It only dawned on him now how little he knew about his own son when it came to this front of women anyway.

"Ju~min~" MC would come into his office with a formal badge at a set scheduled time. It wasn't even like they were an actual couple when it came to the office space. She was just another girl that Jumin would allow in his office sometimes.

He let her go into his house once before in the past, but it made him feel uncomfortable. The office was the only place the two of them would just sit and chat and Jumin was always working.

A few months juggled by like this. MC would come visit, bringing some type of snack food with her to see Jumin before sitting down with him for an hour or two and leaving. It was a never ending cycle. Jaehee almost wanted to ask Jumin to stop playing with the poor girl's heart when he approached Jaehee one day.

"Assistant Kang…" Jumin said, "I have a question for you."

"Y-Yes sir?"

"My father's wedding was finalized and he'll be marrying soon. With this said, we'll be needing to push our sales more than before."

Jaehee wasn't sure where the conversation was going, but she figured it was a good start, "Yes."

"This said, we do have a position opening for Managing Director I would like to fill."

"You do?"

"Yes… I believe I have it figured out. MC would be perfect for the role, don't you think?"

"MC?!" Jaehee's jaw dropped, "But aren't you dating her?"

"Yes, I am… But I'll have to dismiss our relationship formally in the contract if she is to be hired. But I think I have her sorted out."

"Sorted… out?" Jaehee was almost dreading the answer on this one.

"Yes. For a while now, I have noticed that MC gave me… a feeling. Every time I spoke with her, I felt at ease. I felt like I could relax a bit. She is someone that is loyal to me and my own ambitions. She doesn't question anything from me and ask only to be acknowledged. With her own drive and ambition, I have no doubts she can lead the company in a stronger direction than before.

"Really?" Jaehee sighed out. He just dated this girl only to say 'He wanted to have her work for him'.

You know what they say, like Father like son.

"Have a contract prepared by tomorrow afternoon. I'll call her in for lunch." Jumin instructed.

"Yes sir." Jaehee said and walked back to her desk to prepare the contract.

It was bittersweet. A small part of Jaehee had almost been curious to see what Jumin would have been like in an actual romantic relationship, but at any rate MC would be above even her. Maybe she would get normal work hours in the future for it.

She watched MC come in and walk happily towards Jumin's office, ignoring Jaehee herself in the process. The two of them headed out for lunch and were gone for the usual two hour period. Jumin returned to the office with the contract in his hand.

"She signed it." He smiled, "She didn't even have to think about it."

"I see…" Jaehee slightly felt bad for allowing MC to go along with it and sign a contract like that. Her days of Jumin being someone that cared for her wellbeing were over. Not that he really cared much anyway. Or showed his concern.

All that time together and he still felt distant from MC.

Orientation had approached quickly. MC had walked in the office door with her usual smile on her face as Jaehee introduced her to the team.

"I hope to get along with everyone!" MC smiled, "We can all make this a greater place and make Jumin extra happy, okay?"

And Jumin was right. She was motivated, loyal, dedicated… practically the ideal employee. Someone he had always wanted to have on his team.

Still, even though his business numbers continued to climb, he would sometimes stare at MC and still feel off. He had given her a future, right? With a job like this, she could not only be respected, but could easily live comfortably in a few years. Surely that was enough to repay what she had done for him? It felt like enough, but his curiosity would forever remain seated inside of himself as his own work began grow stronger every day.


	2. Bad End 2

It had been a few days since Jumin had been heard from at all. One day, his cat is missing and he is everywhere. The next day, he's just… gone. Jaehee had attempted to call him, go to his house, prayed for a message… She had even tried to use other people's phones to call him. He never answered.

Any idea for the party was long since thrown in the air since MC had not been heard from either. The messenger had gotten increasingly alarmed as well. Yoosung and Seven had made their venture on their "picnic" and managed to find Elizabeth. It was wonderful news, but Seven hadn't been acting the same since. Yoosung was stuck trying to cater to Elizabeth's own demands, despite his gaming habits. Luckily he had considered animal care as a career at one point, so he had some basic knowledge for animal care, but Elizabeth was hardly normal.

Zen…Dear god if there was a way to describe how Zen's own personality had turned. If he was angry before, he was royally pissed off now. Jumin had simply taken MC and vanished from the face of the earth.

"HOW DARE HE…" Zen typed into the messenger. "SHE JUST GOT HERE. SHE WENT OVER TO HELP HIM. AND HIS REWARD IS TO IMPRISION HER LIKE THIS?!"

Jaehee didn't know what to say to that. "I'm… so sorry…" She whimpered in terror. "It was my idea to bring her over there and… Mr. Han isn't answering his calls. He's not opening the door. Nothing."

"Then I'll go shove the door open!" Zen argued.

"For your own safety, I ask that you don't." Jaehee tried to calm the angry Zen down. "He's increased security again. You can't even get access on to his floor without permission now."

"That spoiled ass." Zen rolled his eyes. He knew Jaehee had a point. As much as Zen would love to deck him in the face, his home was far too secure right now. If he could just GO BACK TO WORK…

Jaehee whined in some more, "The Chairman is angry. Jumin apparently hasn't been seeing him either." She sighed, "And I don't know how much further we can go without his approval on all this work."

"Jaehee…" Zen typed in a normal font, simply trying not to flare up at the wrong person, "Please… if he comes to work. Tell me. I am getting MC out of there."

"Right. That would be for the best." Jaehee agreed, but a part of her wondered if that would even be possible. She had researched past messages to see where Jumin had changed like this so much but came across another realization that even Zen was choosing to remain blind to.

It had almost felt like… MC wanted this to happen?

It was strange. She was so sweet and understanding in Rika's apartment, but as soon as she got to Jumin's place, she suddenly became very selfish in the worst sense possible. She wanted Jumin to herself, not even Elizabeth 3rd could have him.

A part of her almost wondered if MC had intentionally allowed Elizabeth 3rd to escape, but there was no time to think on that.

As bound to MC's safety as she felt, a part of her said 'it was okay' and dismissed it so she could focus on her work. It was an awful way of thinking.

Jaehee crawled into the office the next morning. She was dead tired as usual. She made her way to her desk and instantly noticed the paperwork stacked on her desk was gone? She looked around and saw the light on in Jumin's own office.

"It… can't be?" Jaehee walked swiftly over to the door and knocked.

"Come in." A familiar voice rang. It was unmistakingly Jumin behind the door.

Jaehee opened the door and her eyes opened in amazement. There he was, sitting at his desk as usual. He kept his desk fairly organized, so she could see the stack of papers already processed. He was working rather quickly, much to her own glee. But… something about Jumin felt off today.

She couldn't pin point it down, but working with him for two years had given her a special sixth sense to pick up on Jumin's mood and behavior of the day. But today, she couldn't pick up on it at all. It felt… distant. More distant than usual.

"Mr. Han!" She stated, in an attempt to be formal, "I'm glad to see you at work again today!"

"I figured I should stop in and move these over to the next step." He said without looking up from the paperwork.

Jaehee noticed a difference in his tone as well. It was almost… too calm. Too relaxed. Even for being at work on a good day before, he never sounded like this.

She wanted to bring up so many things, but felt a small chill run down her back. She didn't want to admit it but Jumin was almost frightening like this. It felt so tense in the room that one wrong question would make him snap furiously. "Ah… I see." She took a breath, "Should I have any other readings forwarded your way? And about the meetings?"

"Forward them. And send me an email of the meetings to reschedule. I'll set them myself."

That was new. Jumin never set his own schedule. He usually didn't care where it went because he had nothing else beyond work, but with MC at his place still…

"Yes sir." Jaehee bowed and walked back to her desk. She jumped on the messenger quickly.

"Ahhh!;;;;;" She typed in.

"This is no good. Jumin is back today but something feels off. ;;;; I can't put my finger on it and I'm not sure I want to ask about MC until he's in a bit of a better mood." Jaehee left the message and continued to her work.

A few hours later, her phone rang.

"Hello, this is Jaehee Kang, chi—"

"I know all that!" Zen jumped on the other end, "Jaehee I just read the messages. Is it true?!"

Jaehee looked around real quick. She had to make this very fast. "Yes, it is true. He's still here and it still feels odd to talk to him. He's been in his office all day and I don't know how to talk to him about MC or if he even will."

"Just wait for me." Zen growled, "I'll get that jerk to talk."

Zen was one to keep his words on this too. Almost an hour later, Zen slammed his way into the C&R building. His face was clearly filled with anger, but it dissolved quickly upon seeing Jaehee. "Oh hey, Jaehee!" He smiled before returning to his usual glare and slamming his way into Jumin's office.

"You!" Zen stared at Jumin. One look and he could instantly see what Jaehee was talking about. Being an actor, Zen had always paid attention to expressive traits on a person. He recalled Jumin having very serious cold eyes, but they were never this dull and lifeless. "What the hell do you think you are doing?!"

"Working." Jumin answered, "I see you don't have a badge. I should just call security."

"Try me." Zen walked up and slammed his hands on Jumin's desk. "You know what I'm here for."

Jumin looked up and set his paper down slowly. "Are you trying to take what's mine?"

"Yours? She's a HUMAN BEING."

"She gave herself to me. Would you like that in writing? I can have her sign a contract and deliver it to—"

"NO!" Zen barked back, "You're missing the point! She just got here! She was SUPPOSED to run a party for us! You ruined it with your own greed and now you plan on keeping this up?! It's like you don't even care about the RFA! V went through all that trouble! MC went through all that trouble! You threw it all out! You're holding an innocent butterfly captive and calling it protection BUT SHE NEEDS PROTECTION FROM YOU!"

Jumin chuckled a bit, "Funny. She seems to feel differently. She's timid towards anyone else besides me."

"Bullshit. And what about your cat?! If you had actually checked the messenger, you would know by now that YOOSUNG FOUND HER."

"…Did he now?" Jumin raised an eyebrow "Well in that case, he can contact me for the reward. The next step he can make is contacting V to take her."

Zen flew his hand across the desk and threw the paper work on the ground, "REALLY?! THE DAMN CAT MISSES YOU! AND THIS IS COMING FROM ME!"

"She's just a cat." Jumin said in an ice cold voice, "She can't miss me. She probably won't care that I'm gone. Animals don't think like that."

"Are you crazy?! Have you lost your mind?! Where the hell is Jumin Han?!"

"That's a stupid question." Jumin's eye gleamed a bit. The dull life in his eyes flickered into a dark flame that Zen could only find disgust in. "I've come to realize that a person is far more important than a cat. She can understand me. She can accept me. No, she DID accept me." his voice became a mutter.

"You forced her to by not letting her leave."

"Not at all… She knew it was for her own safety. She trust me. She trusts me and no one else. I want it to stay that way. No, it will stay that way."

"It's not good for her and you know it. You're taking away anything that made her a person and making her vanish from everyone! What about her dreams in life? What about her goals? She wanted to help people, remember?! That's why she joined us!"

"She doesn't have a dream." Jumin corrected him. "No, more like she already has her dream. If she wants anything else, I can give it to her in an instant."

"Her freedom! Give it to her!"

"I don't know why you seem so intent on thinking that MC isn't happy with this. She smiles every day." Jumin leaned back in his chair; his eyes began to unfocus as he thought carefully about the details of MC's face. "She smiles while she listens to me, she's happy in my arms and loves it when I say her name. She knows I do my best for her. It's all that I can do for someone that is perfection."

Zen stared at Jumin for a moment. He was still angry, no doubt, but he had come to the conclusion that Jumin just wasn't listening. Not that he ever listened to him anyway, but this time it was less of Jumin ignoring his words out of dark humor spite and more of a 'words just can't reach him' sort of way. Zen could talk to him all day, but nothing would reach him. Nothing could reach him.

He walked out of the office shaking his head and avoided looking at Jaehee. He couldn't face her when he completely failed to help the situation any.

That night, the messenger was flooded with text.

"I can't believe him!" Zen typed. "He didn't listen to a damn thing I said!"

"It's not like you weren't making your point clear." Jaehee sent her sighing emoji. "I followed behind you to shut the door, but I couldn't help but sneak a listen in. You were yelling so loud."

"Ah, no one in the office got scared, did they?" Zen asked.

"No." Jaehee confirmed, "Mr. Han soundproofed his doors years ago because he hated hearing all of his employees outside."

"So does this mean I'm still stuck with the cat?" Yoosung whined, "She's gotten so much hair in my place that I could probably make a whole mattress out of it."

"YUCK!" Zen yelled, "GROSS! DON'T EVEN SUGGEST THAT!"

"It's true!" Yoosung cried, "I don't mind not even getting the reward money, I just want my life back again! My LOLOL ranking has fallen down because of this!"

"Maybe you should stop playing games and think of the cat." Jaehee recommended, "Maybe then she wouldn't mess up your game when you play."

"Yeah, I mean the cat is still a living creature." Zen agreed. He hated cats, but considering that most would die without proper care.

Yoosung cried, "Why me?! Why can't Jumin just take his cat back?"

"That…" Jaehee said, "Is a good question. I don't know why. But he hasn't even brought back the cat projects he canceled from before."

Zen was quiet for a bit before he typed his own reply, "I've done a lot of acting in my life time and I can tell you from what I saw, Jumin was not himself. At all."

"I could tell. This morning something felt off, but I couldn't really put my finger on what the difference was. I'm still confused to be honest."

"He's lost his mind!" Zen retorted. "He keeps MC in his house and talks about how happy she is with him and how much he loves her BUT HE'S NOT LETTING HER GO."

Yoosung chimed in, "Ah… Do you think he's scared?"

"Scared of what?! I did pretty well today in not decking him in the face. I'd rather not have security tackle me, thank you."

"I mean…" Yoosung looked at Elizabeth 3rd, "His father kind of sold him out for a marriage, his cat ran away from him… All these people he actually really liked just kind of turned on him so suddenly."

"I don't think his cat intentionally tried to leave him. She was probably scared of the cage." Jaehee explained, "And as for the Chairman…well…I don't know."

"Still, he must have been hurt." Yoosung thought out loud.

"That still doesn't mean he has to hold on to her like she's his prisoner. She's a person."

"Yeah, but didn't she say she wanted Jumin to do weird things to her?" Yoosung asked Zen.

"Well…" Jaehee recalled all of those weird messages from the past chats. Yoosung wasn't wrong, but… the change was so sudden, it almost seemed out of character.

"I'm sure he just made her say all that." Zen just… couldn't buy it. There was no way someone could actually WANT a love like that.

"I suppose." Jaehee herself was conflicted. None of them actually KNEW MC. They didn't know who she was, where she came from, what she did… Seven could say her past was clean, but what would he know about her personality? "I just… don't like seeing Mr. Han like that. He looks…tired."

"He looked bored and dead on the inside." Zen remarked, "I knew he was hard on the eyes before, but this time was really hard."

They all stayed quiet. They couldn't see each other, but it was pretty clear by now that something in Jumin had snapped. He was no longer thinking objectively at all. His own decisions were created in fear of MC ever changing her mind on leaving with only his obsession over her to drive it all.


	3. Bad End 3

You know what they say about not to complain about life because it will just get that much worse if it hears you? Yeah, Jaehee must have missed that notice for the twentieth time because it just grew from bad to worse.

Much worse.

She could only think about the messages she had read early in the morning. It was supposed to be the day of the party. She had gone to bed early, so she entirely missed it and woke up to a horrible surprise.

V had only left a quick message himself. "Something came up. The party is cancelled. I will contact all the guest invited." he wrote in his usual abrupt statements.

It was the last part that got to Jaehee entirely.

"Jumin… I'm so sorry."

Sorry? What had happened? Did V do something? Yes, cancelling the party was a bad choice, but surely Jumin would be able to understand if something came up with V. After all, Jumin trusted V's judgement more than anyone.

She jumped on her phone and rang for him. She wasn't even certain if he would pick up or not these days, but it didn't hurt to try.

Nothing. Of course.

She didn't have V's number directly, but she did have Seven's number. Maybe he would have more details? She called him, hoping he would answer, but then again his mood had been off lately too.

Again. Nothing.

She wasn't really going to just take this sitting down. She needed to know what happened. She went into the chat herself. She had hoped someone would jump on that could answer.

"Excuse me, I understand V may have his reasons to so suddenly cancel the party, but why? And why is he contacting the guest?"

Jaehee sighed from the other side of her screen, "First Jumin skips work, now this… I wish people would realize the consequences of canceling like this."

Zen logged in to the chatroom, "Oh, Jaehee… You have questions too?"

"Yeah… I tried calling Mr. Han and Seven to see if either of them know, but neither of them are picking up their calls. Is it bad that I am getting used to that these days?"

"I don't know what's going on, but something happened. I know V likes his secrets, and I really try to respect him on this, but this is really irresponsible."

As if on cue, Yoosung jumped in the chat. "ZEN! JAEHEE!" He yelled out and posted his sobbing emoji.

"What? What happened?" Jaehee asked. She doubted Yoosung knew what the cause was, but she really didn't need any more bad news right now.

"Did you see the news?!" Yoosung typed out frantically. "There was an explosion on an apartment complex on the East side of town!"

"An explosion?" Jaehee was in shock. What in the world? She had other problems, but that was dangerous! Especially an apartment?

"It happened around 3am." Yoosung explained, "I… I don't want to be pessimistic, but… V posted his messages at 3:15am… You don't think… that apartment was…"

Rika's apartment. Jaehee's eyes widened in horror. "N-No, that can't be it! MC had given us so many hints that she was far away from us! She wouldn't be that close!"

"Yeah;;;;;" Zen added nervously. It was a good thing no one could see him right now, his hand had begun shaking.

Yoosung posted his crying emoji, "But I tried calling MC this morning and… and… it said her phone was disconnected."

"Disconnected?!" Jaehee felt her heart leap out of her chest, "N-No. Here, maybe your phone is bad. I'll go call her. Wait RIGHT HERE."

Jaehee left the chat and tried to call MC. She had not prayed in so long, but she could feel herself muttering a prayer under her breath.

"THE NUMBER YOU ARE CALLING IS CURRENTLY UNAVILABLE. PLEASE CALL BACK ANOTHER TIME." A bot on the other end rang.

Jaehee grew cold. Her phone truly was disconnected. The bomb in the apartment… The phone disconnection… V's sudden messages. These things… they were not coincedences.

Jaehee returned to the chat. "She… didn't pick up." Jaehee typed in disbelief. She noticed Zen's absence. "Where did Zen go?"

"He wanted to try to call her himself. I'm so scared. Do you think this was the hacker?" Yoosung whined.

"There is… no other option. Yoosung, what did you and Seven see? Please, tell me everything. Anything will help right now."

Zen jumped back in the chat himself, "She's not picking up…"

"I mean, I can't explain much about what happened…" Yoosung cried. "I'm just as confused!"

"At this point…" Zen typed, "I don't care if it's a detail like the color of the leaves on the trees. We need answers. Now."

Yoosung cried again, "I mean, it was a guy! A guy! I know that much. He had like white hair and green eyes? I don't know! It was too weird!"

"White hair and green eyes?" Jaehee typed, "That's a strange combination."

"Do you think he could be like me and using colored contacts?" Zen asked.

"N-No…" Yoosung added, "His tips were like a pinkish color. I think he dyed his hair white."

"So the hacker is a male with white hair, pink tips and green eyes?" Jaehee confirmed.

"Yeah it was more like a mint green color."

Jaehee would need this information to find out who was behind this. At this point, the case could be escalated to a full police force investigation. She could easily get their help.

But that reminded her…

"Oh my god…" She typed in. "I… I don't think Mr. Han is doing too well. I should go check on him." She said. God… this was terrible. He was FINALLY STARTING TO GET BETTER.

She left the messenger and completely ignored the remainder of the conversation. She could look on it later.

Honestly she didn't like going to Jumin's home in casual wear. She didn't like going there to begin with, but she figured going there with a sweatshirt and tennis shoes would just receive criticism, but she was not about to dress herself up and run in heels. She needed to go check on Jumin. Not as an employee, but as a person.

She was running as fast as her feet could take her, when her eyes caught a familiar color. It was unavoidable. V stood out too much from the crowd.

"V!" She yelled out loudly. She figured a normal person would run, but she had heard all too much about his eye injury. No way could he get far with it.

V looked up and around at his surroundings. He could barely see at all, but his hearing was fine. He was certain he heard someone call his name.

Jaehee ran in front of him. She didn't want to get aggressive, but she did want answers. "V! What is going on?! You leave messages like that in the messenger and what are we supposed to think?!"

"Oh… Jaehee…" V said in his calming voice. "I was just about to go see Jumin myself."

"For what?!" Jaehee said, "Shouldn't you talk to everyone?!"

"I should and I will. I promise." V said in a shaken voice. "I never expected this to happen."

"Expected what to happen? This is about MC, isn't it?" Jaehee asked.

V stayed quiet. Completely quiet. He took a breath and began to talk, "Why don't we go see Jumin first. I'll explain it there."

Fair enough. Jaehee wanted to check on him anyways and she was sure V needed help getting there.

They got to the penthouse and Jaehee almost felt like she had entered a new world. The guards were outside as usual but there was just a different vibe.

"Assistant Kang!" One of the guards said, "You're here… uhh… awfully casually."

"I am here to see Mr. Han. Would that be possible?"

The guards looke at each other and looked back towards Jaehee, "I'm sorry assistant Kang but… Mr. Han locked his doors early this morning. We can't even get inside to get verification."

"Ah…" V sighed next to Jaehee, "I had a feeling this would happen. Jaehee, can you help me out? I know a way in."

"A what?"

"Jumin told me about it once a few years ago. He likes to be 100% sure of things all the time, so he made a second key and hid it on this floor."

"So there's a key around here?"

"Yeah…" V tried to think, "I think he mentioned it was behind a picture."

"A picture…" Jaehee knew V couldn't see too well. He might have been able to find a picture, but there were a couple. It would just be faster if she looked.

Her and the guards slipped around the pictures for a quick few minutes before the key was found. Jaehee held her hand out swiftly, "Please let me go see him."

"But shouldn't we get permission to-?"

"Currently, you don't even have permission to enter in yourselves. I understand I am an employee myself, but V here is his friend. And… I am worried about him. If any job goes in jeopardy by this choice, I will have it be mine." Not like she would have this job much longer anyway if Jumin didn't show up for work.

They opened the door slowly. It felt… different. Much different from before. The lights were off entirely, only using natural lighting from the sun outside for lightening. The room seemed quiet, but upon walking in, you could barely hear the sound of a phone in the room.

Jaehee looked around to see if she could find Jumin anywhere and found him lying on his bed. It was almost painful to look at him.

The blankets were wrapped up to him nose, covering most of his face. His eyes looked emotionally dead. His arm was slipped out through the blanket and constantly tapping the phone next to him. " !" Jaehee ran up to him, " , are you alright?!"

Jumin's eyes just loomed up and met with Jaehee's before he lowered them back to the phone and tapped call lightly.

Jaehee stared at him, unable to take her eyes off of him. She didn't regain her composure until she heard that sound again.

"THE NUMBER YOU ARE CALLING IS CURRENTLY UNAVILABLE. PLEASE CALL -" Jumin's finger slid down to the hang up button and he tapped the phone to call again.

The noise continued in an endless, silent cycle.

V walked up by Jaehee slowly, "Jumin. It's me. Jaehee walked me here."

Jumin's eyes loomed up at V and held for a moment, then moved back down to the phone. "She… she's not answering my calls."

"She's not answering anyone's calls, ." Jaehee confirmed, "Zen, Yoosung and I have all tried."

"And Seven? Shouldn't he be watching her?" Jumin's voice was exhausted. It was a familiar voice to Jaehee herself. That voice that dragged when you simply didn't sleep at all.

"I could not get in touch with him either."

"Seven…" V started, "Seven might need awhile to talk to someone else. I plan on talking to him later today, but I wanted to talk to you first."

Jumin's eyes loomed up to V again. "V…" He said as if he was trying to force energy out of his body. "V, please… I can't get in touch with her…" Jumin said. "I saw your messages and tried to call her. I tried all night, but she's not answering. Do you think I scared her? Does she hate me? If she wants to avoid me forever, I'll comply…" He sat up from his bed and picked up his phone.

Looking at it, he could feel his eyes starting to feel full. He had been feeling a strange pain in his chest all week it seemed, but this was the first time his eyes were hurting like this. "But… please… tell me she's okay. That's all I need to know." His voice cracked. "You said she was going to be safe, right? You… you wouldn't lie to me, right?"

Jaehee almost couldn't stand seeing him like this. She knew Jumin to be calm and collected, but here he was going through an actual breakdown.

"You're right. I can't lie to you." V sighed, "That's why… I can't tell you that."

Jumin lunged out of bed and grabbed V by the shirt, "SHUT UP! YOU SAID SHE WOULD BE SAFE!"

"I… I thought it would be. I never thought something like that would happen…" V sighed. He saw this coming. He deserved it though. MC had nothing to do with the RFA originally and now she was dead.

"What happened? WHAT… HAPPENED?" Jumin shook him, "WHAT HAPPENED THAT WAS SO GRAVE THAT YOU COULDN'T FORESEE IT!"

Jaehee placed her hand on Jumin's own hand. She realized Jumin was far more unstable than he was at any point in this week. " , if I may… V has no means of defending himself from your own lashes. Take your hands down and we can explain this in a peaceful matter."

Jumin had almost forgotten Jaehee was there for a moment, he lowered his hands down and looked at her, "Then tell me… What happened? Why isn't she answering?"

"You probably haven't turned on the TV, but apparently it's all over the news. There was an explosion at an apartment on the east side of town last night." Jaehee tried to explain as best as she could. The truth is, she didn't watch the news either.

"An… explosion?" Jumin's eyes widened, easily making the connection "Wha—Why? What ?" He looked so confused and sat down on his bed again, "I…I don't understand? This… this isn't logical at all?"

"It's very likely it was the hacker." Jaehee added to help clarify things, "We don't know for sure but…"

"I knew it…" Jumin rubbed his forehead, feeling the pressure in his eyes roll down his face. "I knew Seven was acting too weird."

"I didn't realize it would get this bad…" V said, "I'm… so sorry."

Jumin honestly couldn't respond. Too many emotions were rushing to him at once and edging away at his own mind. Sadness, ache, anger, despair… They were all coming to him too fast and he couldn't process them all correctly. He found himself not breathing. It was strangling him. Those threads in the back of his mind had finally found just the right threads to pull at his neck and stop his breathing.

" ? !" Jaehee shook him roughly and heard him take a deep breath. " , calm down. You're going to hurt yourself!"

"Hurt…myself?" Jumin's eyes looked completely lost. He looked as though he had been left alone on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere. "Hurt myself? What does it matter? MC is dead! I couldn't… I…." he turned to V, "She…You… why? Why V?! Why did you lie to me?!"

"I said I didn't know." V sighed, "At the time, I honestly believed it was the truth."

"And you didn't double check? Triple check?! She was SAFE here!" he slammed his fist on his bed. "She could have stayed here! She could have been safe here! She… MC could… She could be ALIVE right now!"

"Jumin. Listen to me. I know how you feel, but please understand. Did you not read what she was saying in the messenger? What she was saying right in front of you? She felt like a prisoner here. You couldn't keep holding her here."

"I would have let her go if everything would have been safe!" Jumin retorted, "I knew there was something wrong! I KNEW IT! You and Seven both were acting too strange!"

V closed his eyes, "I'm… sorry." It was all he could muster up to say. He really had no idea what else to tell Jumin.

"What… what was an explosive doing there anyway?" Jumin wondered out loud.

"I…" V sighed again, "I can tell you one day. I promise."

The anger in Jumin finally snapped. His sadness had been pushing it back, but hearing that answer just set a switch off in him. He jumped up and pinned V to the wall.

" !" Jaehee flinched in shock.

"Cut the bullshit. Tell me RIGHT NOW, V." Jumin's eyes glared at V.

V could barely see Jumin's face, but he saw enough to know he was pissed off at him. "I… I'm sorry. It's all I can say…"

"Do you think this is a game?! Someone DIED because of your classified information! I told you… I told you if anything happened to her-!"

"I know you're mad! And I am truly sorry about what happened, but something like that… It's… it's too much to explain and you are in a good mind to hear it!"

"If you force my hand on this, V mark my words, I will get to the bottom of this. Dark money is a powerful force and I will use it." Jumin's voice was nothing but anger at this point. That weary, broken, confused tone from moments ago was lost.

" !" Jaehee intervened again. She thanked her lucky stars she was around to help V. Even if he was in the wrong, it still was not right to pin people to the wall. " , I understand, I'm crushed too, but you can't do this. You can't go this far. I'm not saying this as your assistant or a member of the RFA, but as a real human. You can't… Please."

Jumin looked at Jaehee. She had her own dark circles under her eyes too. He had seen them on her multiple times when her make up would thin out at work. She had worked so hard for him this past week, and she was still here to help him regardless.

Jumin released V from his hands and slumped back into bed and rolled up in the blankets. "Get out of my house." He said back in his broken voice, "And take that cat with you. I don't want it."

Jaehee was in shock again. Jumin just flat out told them to take his cat. He had been saying It all week, but it felt final just now. He didn't even call her by her name.

"Alright." V said in a defeated tone. "Just… call me if you change your mind or feel better. This is her home."

V looked around and saw the cage he had put Elizabeth back inside of. He quickly grabbed her and looked towards Jaehee. "We should go."

Jaehee quietly nodded. She still had that spare key, so she would probably come and check on him later after he had calmed down a bit. Certainly he would be back in a few days to come back to work, right? He had caught up on so much, but now it was just going in a loop again.

The two walked outside in silence. Neither of them said a word until the outside world filled their ears with noise.

"Well… I guess I'm off to see Seven now. I need to talk with him too." V sighed, "Sorry about the trouble in there."

"N-Not at all… Are you going to be okay going to Seven's?"

"I should be fine. I think Elizabeth 3rd wouldn't like it if anything happened to me over there. Besides, it's classified talk, so you wouldn't be able to go inside anyway."

"I…I see…" She sighed, "I know Jumin was planning on revealing the information I got from Seven to his father today but… maybe I can find a way to sit down and talk with him about it. I am praying for a miracle."

"I'll pray for you too." V chuckled. "You're beside Jumin a lot. He's probably going to need a lot of support in the next few days. Please take care of him for me."

"I will." Jaehee sighed. She hated having to 'take care' of a boss that never took care of her, but given the circumstances and what she saw in there… He needed it.

"I'll be off then. You take care." V said as he split his own path and began to walk back.

Jaehee turned around and walked back. She looked down at her own phone and read through old chat messages. She felt tears forming in her own eyes. "I'm so sorry." Jaehee said and leaned on the wall to cry, "This was my fault… I should have never sent you."


	4. Bad Re End

A/N: I try to avoid these, but for the bad relationship ending, I am currently only up to knowledge on one of them. I am told he has a second one, but until I see it, I do not feel comfortable writing an after ending for it. This is the Day 10 BRE.

I have worked a bit to make this after ending different from BE3.

Have you ever heard of the saying "caught between a rock and a hard place"? That was how V felt right now. He had felt that way for a few years now, but for now, it was even more so.

He had just gone by to give Elizabeth back to Jumin and hopefully get MC out of his house. V honestly had no idea it had gotten as bad as it did though. The second Jumin turned his attention away from her, she had fled to the window and jumped out, landing flat on the ground.

He counted every damn blessing that so much of the building was open for shopping and dining. Thanks to that, Jumin had managed to avoid any new rumors from being directed at him, but that didn't stop some from speculating a robbery of some sort. But for Jumin, his reaction was much worse to this than any rumor…

Jumin screamed out her name and ran over the window. Had V not grabbed him, he was almost certain Jumin would have followed himself. He tried to calm his frantic friend down but it only escalated. V could barely see, but he could hear it. Jumin was breaking down. Completely.

V had always known Jumin to be fairly collected with a stubborn half, but he did know that Jumin had a very fragile heart when he opened it up to others. Perhaps that was why it was so fragile. He rarely experienced being emotionally hurt.

"Jumin!" V yelled out loud, "Stay with me, okay? Look at me! Look at me!" V had asked, but Jumin was fighting against him in disbelief.

The guards finally barged in and helped V hold his friend down until he finally fainted from all the kicking and screaming.

V didn't know what to do.

And to be honest, he still didn't know what to do. He couldn't stick around like this. He would get found out. But, this whole situation only got this far because he wasn't around. He was sure of it. If he wasn't around for Jumin this time…

No… V tried to make a promise with himself. The RFA needed him now. Seven was calling him nonstop every day. V just turned his phone on silent, not sure how to answer him. He knew what Seven wanted to talk about. He had seen it, but he didn't have an answer.

That wasn't right, he had an answer. He just wasn't sure if Seven could handle a secret like that… After all, he did trust her to keep 'him' happy.

But back at Jumin, he was taken to a hospital after all of that. V had requested he stay on floor level, so not to try anything, but by the time Jumin came back to his senses, he realized he didn't have to worry any more.

Jumin Han wasn't going anywhere. No, it was better to put it this way: The body of Jumin Han wasn't going anywhere. His mind had been shut off to just thinking about that night over and over. Jumin asked about MC when he first woke up, but V had nothing to say.

Did Jumin accept reality? V couldn't tell. If there was ever a point that honestly made him consider getting surgery to fix his eyes, now was it. He couldn't help Jumin like this. When V came over for his quick visits, he would just talk to Jumin and hope that his words could comfort him even in the slightest.

But Jumin never responded back. He just stayed on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

V would return quickly back to Mint Eye and tried his best to play things cool. In situations like these, Yoosung was a blessing. Had he came back with Elizabeth 3rd, it would have been a clear give away of where he was trotting off when he was "busy".

Right now, more than ever, he did not need anyone figuring that out.

It didn't help that a certain person in the house would walk across everywhere. "Hoo~ All these devices?" He would smile as he picked them up slowly and quickly crush them with his hand and smashing it with his foot. "They're! So! Much! Trouble!"

V tried to not say anything. Any type of discussion with that one was useless at this point. He had no intention of listening to V either since he 'hated him so much'.

Still, V was worried. His he knew about MC being in Rika's apartment, did Rika herself know? Would Rika even be able to find out anything about what was going on? Surely HE figured something was up, but as long as the who's and what's could remain a secret, everything would be fine from him.

Rika though… she was an entirely different story all together. It was no secret to him that Jumin was just as close to her as he was, but towards the end there it would have been a lie to say there were points where V felt… worried.

Rika would go and see Jumin alone a lot more. Rika would talk to Jumin on the phone more. V didn't want to misbehave because it made Rika happy, but it would have been wrong for him to say he wasn't a bit jealous over it. He began to wonder if maybe he was the problem. What if she doubted his love for her? He did recall reading that women were very sensitive. Did something wrong happen along the way? He honestly had tried to apologize before, but he couldn't do it very well. He didn't know what he did wrong.

So… he stayed this way. He… honestly hated going blind. It was horrifying. He lost his passion for life in hopes that his love would stay.

But now he realized the mistake there too…

He came back to the hospital for a visit again a few days later. He couldn't go every day, but a small trip once or twice a week was fine.

"Ah! V!" Jaehee turned over quickly in shock, "I didn't expect to see you here!"

V flinched slightly himself. He didn't expect Jaehee either, but at the same time he was hoping to keep these little visits a secret for the most part. "Sorry. I just wanted to see how he was doing…"

Jaehee sighed, "Physically, he is in optimal health. Nothing is wrong with him at all."

"So he's still…"

"…I can't see someone recovering from something like that so easily. I guess being blind probably helped your experience a bit." Jaehee's own voice sounded defeated. "I just can't help but—"

A pillow was flung over in her direction. She flung it to the ground and watched Jumin roll around facing the other direction.

"He must not want to hear about it." Jaehee whispered. "But I came in to deliver the good news. I can't say it will help, but any good news should be something at this point…"

"Good news?" V asked. He hadn't been around much so he was wondering what on earth could be good news at a time like this?

"Ah, right, you probably haven't heard about the whole Sarah deal." Jaehee explained, "Some sisters had tried to arrange a marriage on Mr. Han by using his father for their own profit, but Seven had managed to find undeniable proof of their relationship. Mr. Han was going to do something with it at the party but—"

Jumin waved his arm towards the door.

Jaehee grumbled. She knew a clue when she saw it. "I'm sorry, V. Would it be okay to continue outside?"

He wasn't sure if chit chat was the best option for himself, but it wasn't like Jumin would start talking with him in here either. "Sure."

The two walked outside and went some distance away from the room. "Ah… are your eyes okay?" Jaehee asked when they found some chairs to sit in.

"Oh, they're fine." V lied through his teeth. It was painfully obvious they weren't fine, but he wasn't here to draw attention to himself. "So it was about that marriage?"

"Oh… yes… we managed to finally get undeniable confirmation that the two were up to no good and were just using . was going to deliver it himself, but after the news of that evening, I finally had to take action myself." her eyes opened up, "Oh, right… we were only able to get this information because of Seven… Have you spoken with him lately?"

There was a topic was one he wanted to avoid overall. "Not really." He confessed, "Between this and other things, the time for a call has been…"

"I understand." Jaehee nodded, "But please, do call him the instant you get a chance. He has not been around much since this incident himself, but the few times he does show up, he's not too well either."

What a mess. The whole situation was a mess. Jaehee made her leave shortly after filling V in on the situation and prayed for V to help Jumin recover. After all, as she said, V was probably all Jumin felt like he had left.

And V couldn't commit himself to staying like this.

He walked slowly back to Jumin's room. He found it kind of funny that it was becoming easier to read the brail on the walls instead of the room numbers. Slowed him down a bit, but at least he could avoid awkward situations.

He heard tossing on the bed and could see a small dark outline of Jumin rolling on the bed.

"Don't worry. It's just me. Jaehee went back to work."

Jumin stayed quiet.

"She's worried about you, you know? Everyone is. We know you're doing okay but we –"

"That…" Jumin's voice weakly cracked for the first time in what felt like forever, "That is a lie."

"Huh?"

"A lie… I've… never been okay." Jumin confessed. His voice sounded tired and broken. He had only been sitting in bed for so long but he still looked so poor.

"That's not true. You have been okay before. You would always like to go out to your farms right?"

Jumin stayed quiet for a bit before he spoke out, "If I was okay then people would stop running away."

"People aren't running away, Jumin." V tried to explain, "They just …"

"They don't understand me and get afraid… even Elizabeth 3rd … even MC… I was foolish to think either of them would want to stay with a freak like me."

"I think you're being too hard on yourself." V sighed.

"Hard? Heh… If anything, I'm being too soft. I've had so many people tell me they want to be with me my entire life…" Jumin finally sat up, "But the instant I let something in, they see me for what I truly am and try to escape… but at that point…At that point, I can't LET them go. I…I don't want them to go. And yet, even MC found death more appealing than my true self!"

V wanted to stop Jumin so much, but given that it was his first time speaking to him since the incident, V allowed him to talk. Talking did help people sometimes…

"I don't get it, V… What am I? Why does everything hate me so much?"

"I think…" V started, "You are emotional right now. I'll admit, I don't know what to do because I've never seen you like this, but I don't want you making brash choices that will lead you to hurt yourself or others."

"What others?!" Jumin raised his voice, "Even you… you've been gone so much lately I… I don't know. I just don't know."

"I know I have not been around as much, but please understand, I am working very hard."

"Working?!" Jumin looking at V, "You're going blind! I've asked you to get an operation to fix it so many times… I offered to pay for it! And yet-! And yet I'm IGNORED?!"

"I know, but… for personal reasons Jumin, I can't put myself that way."

"Why not?!"

"Just… please trust me on this."

Jumin looked at his blanket. He hated this. He hated that anytime he asked a question to V, V would ask for Jumin to just trust him. He hated that V wouldn't talk to him anymore. But most of all, he hated…

"I'll trust you." his own ability to doubt his friend. At this point though, what choice did he have? To choose to not trust V would be choosing to be truly alone. Loneliness had never truly gotten to him before, but now it felt like the most terrifying thing. Jumin did not want to be alone.

"Thank you." V sighed. He could tell Jumin wanted to debate it, but he wanted to stay on good terms with him.

V finally left after Jumin calmed down a bit again and finally went back to resting. If there was one time V didn't have to worry about Jumin, it was when he was resting.

Or so he was lead to believe…

Getting out going somewhere private was no easy task for him. It was becoming increasingly difficult, to the point where he was going to have to consider stopping all together. It was an ugly choice, but he felt like it needed to be done.

And that one guy could only confirm his worst fears to help him make this choice.

"Oh? Are you awake?" He smiled from behind the mask.

V never did like that tone. Well, he didn't like his tone to begin with. It was dripping with instability. He just looked in his general direction and grabbed his glasses.

"I take it you will want to go somewhere today? It's been a few days since you left…"

V couldn't even humor him with a response.

"You're not going to say anything? Not like you ever do, and I don't really care." he smiled again, "But, I brought in a special friend for you today!"

V turned his head lightly. A special friend? What did he mean by that? His mind instantly raced towards Seven. Would Seven have come back to this place? Was he that desperate for answers?

"You see, I've been watching you leave for a while now." he explained, "I didn't have anything better to do, and I was getting curious at what happened to our dear MC."

Oh god…

"Imagine my surprise when I found out she died! That poor child never did anything wrong, but still found death more enjoyable than living in your fantasy world."

This was not happening…

"But I did find another one of your RFA friends in a bit of a hard time himself. That was the reason you were leaving. But don't worry, I'm not mad at him or anything. In fact, I was rather nice. I brought him here and made him happy."

V couldn't see so he had zero reason to lunge at him, but if there was ever a time V had felt boiling anger in his veins, it was now… "He was at the hospital getting TREATED!"

"Treated? They didn't seem to be doing him any good. He didn't even put up a fight when I came for him. Did you know he cracked a smile here?"

There was no way that was a real smile. God! V was an IDIOT! He tried so hard to keep himself undercover, but his worry for Jumin lead him here. "Where is he?"

"Oh he's sleeping now. My savior wanted me to give him a peaceful sleep where he could have sweet dreams."

V stood up and began walking. Without any clear direction, he had no way of finding him, but he knew someone else would know his exact location.

"Rika…" V came in with his worried, "Rika… This is not okay…"

"Not okay? What isn't?" Rika looked at him confused and lightly disgusted. V made no sense to her as usual.

"It's about Jumin… You can't keep him locked up here."

"Oh that?" Rika smiled, "No, I'm not keeping him here. He wants to stay."

"You know Jumin would never think that way!" Rika snuffed.

V was torn. He loved Rika so much, even when she was like this, but there was no doubt that he was blaming himself for Jumin being tied into this. He had worked so hard to keep Jumin safe but this… "Rika, please… I understand you want to make him happy, but his problem can't be solved like this."

"You always say that!" Rika shouted, "I saw my friend and he was hurt. So I brought him here and now he is happy! What's so hard to understand about that?"

"Yes, and thank you for considering him but—"

"It's always a 'but', 'however', or 'don't' with you." Rika growled out, "Why can't you just trust me to help people?!"

"I do. I trust you every day of my life. I just don't want you making a bad mistake that will hurt others in the long run."

"It won't hurt them. It makes them happy. You just can't understand this. Why do you refuse to be happy with me?"

"No…" V shook his head, "Please don't think like that. I am happy with you. Even right now, I'm happy."

"Then why are you complaining? Jumin didn't complain himself at all!"

"That…" V was running around in circles. He loved Rika so much that he could never truly call her out, but he knew wrong doings when they confronted him. Jumin was dragged here and drugged. Wherever he was, V had to try and find him and convince him to leave. It was probably the only chance he had.

"Could you at least tell me where he is?" V asked. If he could just get this much out of Rika, he could save a whole day's worth of time.

"Why? Because you want to take him away?" Rika rejected V's question. "You don't understand me, V… I want to make my friend happy. Jumin understood this, why can't you?"

"Can you really say Jumin understood you?"

"Yes… I can…" Rika thought out loud, "For the longest time, he would talk about how no one understood him and how it crushed his own ability to meet people. I was the foolish one. I had believed that he could make friends if he had opened up, but he was far wiser. I would not understand him until I myself was reborn anew. I became someone better, and I finally understood him. Being surrounded by people that can never understand you… I can understand him on this."

"I do understand you, Rika…"

"You don't." Rika stood firm, "Ever since Sally died, I have learned not to make mistakes. Mistakes can cause death and unhappiness. I try my best to things right the first time and you don't understand any of it!"

"But this isn't the way to…"

"V… Do you really not trust me to take care of Jumin? He is our friend after all…"

V stood quietly. "I… do. You'll take care of him."

"Yes. I will! Ah, that reminds me… He missed this person named MC right? I was thinking, maybe I could change my hair a bit to help comfort him."

"You want to change your hair? But it's beautiful the way it is."

"Don't worry, it will just be… for a while. Besides, can you even see my hair at all? Those glasses block out everything."

"Of course I can still see your hair. I'll always see you."

"Well… I'll think on it."

"So… can I go see Jumin?"

"No." Rika abruptly answered.

"…" It was pointless for V to fight it at this point.

"If I let you know where he is now, you'll just try to take him away. I can't trust you at all."

"You…" V felt a hole tear in his stomach, "You can trust me. I just want to see him."

"You promise?"

"Yes." V nodded. Honestly he wouldn't be able to make it out of here without Jumin's own cooperation. If he had already been drugged like this to 'feel better' then chances are he wouldn't leave easily.

"Extra promise?"

"Rika…" V sighed, "I promise on my own life that I will not take Jumin away. Is that okay?"

Rika shrugged a bit and began walking. "Keep up. I'm going to see him myself too."

V did admit it had its challenges, but he managed to keep his ears open just enough to follow Rika to a nicely kept room in the back.

"Jumin!" Rika smiled, "I'm here to check on you. Are you okay?"

Jumin certainly did not look like himself. At all. His skin had gone almost entirely pale and dark circles rung around his eyes from adjusting to the drug itself. V was lucky really. Jumin was strong enough to handle the drug and survive the first few dosages. Some people had actually died after the first one…

"Oh…" Jumin's voice almost sounded like he was in a trace, "V is with you?"

"Yes. He is with me, but he can't do too much. He can barely see, after all."

"That's a shame. But, I know you're taking care of him. You take care of everyone like the angel you are…"

"Thank you, Jumin. I'm glad you understand." Rika smiled.

V had so many things he wanted to say, but honestly, it would have to wait for later… much later… if ever. "I'm…glad to see you're feeling better."

"Feeling… better…" Jumin stalled out as if his mind was trying to wrap itself around the words. Better? Was this better? He felt tired. Was he sad? No. But that weary dread was still over his entire body.

"Yes…" Rika interjected, "If you ever start to feel bad, we have your medication sitting right here. Just take it when you need it."

"But try not to overdose." V added in. He couldn't say much, but at the very least, he could prevent Jumin from dying like this.

"That…" Jumin looked at the floor and just stared at it. He felt… empty. Something in his mind had jumbled itself into the threads and had gotten lost. What was it? He felt like it was something important. No… not something… someone. Who was it? Why could he not remember?

"You look a little deflated right now…" Rika walked over and grabbed the medicine, "Here, take some. It will help."

Jumin looked at her. His mind kept screaming "you should be dead", but he couldn't actually hear it. He was just happy someone was here. He took the medicine and swallowed it. Within a few seconds he lost his balance and rocked on the bed. Rika gently placed him on his pillow, "Now…" She looked at him, "Just rest up. You'll feel better."

"…" It was an odd feeling for Jumin. Just seconds ago he had been feeling lost and confused, but now his thoughts had just been numbed. He couldn't think of anything.

V stood at the entrance and watched. It was already too late to help Jumin. He concluded this much. But, it gave him some leeway. He just needed to… stay away from the RFA. Forever. If that boy would just track him down at this point, they would all get caught like this.

Just the idea of it was enough to make him feel like a terrible failure.


End file.
